Contents

In 1941 the Australian Broadcasting Commission decided to nationalise its Children's programs, broadcast from Sydney with Ida Elizabeth Osbourne as its first producer. In 1942 she commissioned Ruth Park to write a dramatised series, The Wide–Awake Bunyip. The first episode was aired in January 1943, with "Joe" (Albert Collins) in the title role. When he died, in 1951, Ruth changed the title to The Muddle–Headed Wombat, with Leonard Teale the first to play the part. When Leonard left, John Ewart "Jimmy" made it his for the next 20 years. The part of his friend "Mouse" in both incarnations was played by the current female co-presenter. When John Appleton was made Supervisor of Children's Programs and keen to be involved, the part of "Tabby Cat" was created for him. The narrator throughout was "Mac" (Atholl Fleming). The popularity of the series (ending when the Children's Hour was cancelled in 1970) led Ruth Park to write her Muddle–Headed Wombat books.

The Muddle-Headed Wombat books follow the Muddle-Headed Wombat and his friends, a good-natured, practical female mouse and a vain, neurotic male tabby cat. The characters call each other simply Wombat, Mouse and Tabby.

Wombat's speech is peppered with malapropisms and spoonerisms, e.g. treely ruly for really and truly, lawn the mow for mow the lawn and Cindergorilla for Cinderella. He has a bicycle with red wheels, of which he is intensely proud and which he anthropomorphises, e.g. complaining that it bit him when he accidentally injured himself trying to repair it.

The Muddle Headed Wombat series of books was published from 1962 to 1971 by Educational Press Pty Ltd [1] ,[2] who commissioned Ruth Park to write books based on the radio show. Noella Young illustrated these books.

In 1971 the rights were transferred to Angus and Robertson Pty Ltd,[3] who commissioned the later books and reprinted those originally published by Educational Press.

The 1994 paperback edition of the Muddle-Headed Wombat four book omnibus which was first published in 1979